Over My Head
by Bean Sprout Alchemist
Summary: Begins where season 12 left off. A possible scenario for season 13. Involves all the characters dealing with the aftermath of what we saw in the season finale. After getting kidnapped, Meredith and Jo are forced to perform surgery on a patient in order to survive. Meanwhile, at the hospital, the doctors learn about their missing co-workers.
1. Chapter 1

**Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Fray. Although I rate the A Day To Remember version as well.**

Meredith Grey ran a very tight schedule. After all she was a respectable doctor at one of the leading hospitals in the state. Her name was plastered all over the hospital walls as well as the paper cups; she could not be the kind of doctor to keep her patients waiting. Her children knew the routine, they woke up, ate their breakfast whilst flicking cheerios' at each other, they got dressed, they had time for only one tantrum before their shoes were slipped on their feet and they were all rushed to school. She then returned home to pick up her sisters. Meredith Grey ran a very tight schedule and did not like to be kept waiting for anyone, least of all Amelia Shepherd.

Meredith watched Maggie's lips moving, she was sure her sister must have been shouting as loud as she could, but Meredith heard nothing for her hand was firmly pushing down on the car horn. The sound bleared ear-splittingly loud from the car, and yet Amelia still hadn't jumped in the back seat. A fleeting thought wondered if the neighbours minded the noise, but then again, they had never complained about all those parties that were thrown in their intern days. Her neighbours were good people, tolerable; she should go and introduce herself one day. Her schedule did not allow time for Amelia to be running late. She withdrew her hand from the horn for a moment only to yell, 'Amelia, you have 20 seconds to get your ass in the car or I'm leaving without you.'

Maggie, who had been waiting so infuriatingly patient, opened up her passenger door saying, 'Maybe I should go inside and see if she's okay.'

'Maggie, you're the one who said I have to wait for her. If you take one step outta this car, I'm leaving without both of you.'

With the slightest hint of an exasperated sigh, Maggie shut the door and Meredith replaced her hand on the horn.

Finally, the back door opened and Amelia launched herself into the car. It wasn't until Amelia was safely buckled up in the back seat, that Meredith ceased pressing the horn and drove out of the driveway.

Maggie turned towards Amelia and said, 'What are you even doing here? Why did I find you in your pyjamas on Meredith's porch this morning?'

Busy tying her hair up in a ponytail, Amelia takes a moment to respond, 'Owen dropped me off on his way to work. I haven't had the chance to move all my stuff into Owen's house yet. All my clothes are still at Mer's.

Maggie waves away the response with her hand, 'Yeah but why are you going to work? You're supposed to be on your honeymoon. You and Owen are supposed to be in a cabin in the woods snuggling around the fire to keep warm or on an exotic beach in a bikini drinking cocktails and getting massages. Amelia, you got married yesterday. Why are you going to work?'

'Well, you know, it was such a quick wedding. We didn't have time to organise anything. Why do people go on honeymoons anyway? Why is it expected that people have to go on a holiday after they get married. You know we live in a day and age where there isn't an expectation for women to get married, or have children so why is there still a stigma where women have to go on a honeymoon after they get married. We should all be pro-honeymoon-choice. Help fight the battle against honeymoon social expectations. Whose on board with me?' Amelia ended wide-eyed and looking at a confused Maggie. She had given up doing her hair in the car, so now it was a frizzled mess around her head.

Meredith chose this moment to enter the conversation and bluntly stated, 'Going on a honeymoon would mean that she would actually have to acknowledge that she got married.'

Maggie is quick to interject, 'Meredith, that's not true.'

Amelia only glares at Meredith's head from the back seat and remains quiet. There is a brief moment of silence. Only the local news being played through the radio could be heard.

' _And reports of a drug bust gone wrong, in which courageous police officers were caught in a cross fire with suspected drug dealers. No officers were hurt, however the armed suspects got away. It is thought that one of the suspects is injured and will require medical attention. Those with any further information are urged to contact police.'_

Amelia breaks the silence by saying, 'Anyway, I wouldn't have been running so late if Maggie hadn't been in the bathroom for so long. What were you even doing in there?'

'Oh you know, just the usual things. Having a shower, going over my surgical plan. I have that complex heart transplant today,' Maggie responds.

Amelia's eyes shine bright and a hint of a smirk dances on her lips, 'Oh really? Is that today? Is Riggs scrubbing in with you?'

Meredith's hands grip the steering wheel tighter, making her knuckles turn white and she glances in her rear-view mirror to look at Amelia. Amelia winks at Meredith, no longer trying to conceal the smirk on her face.

Suddenly, Maggie felt like the car temperature had gone up a few degrees, 'What are you talking about?'

Amelia lets out a little laugh, 'Oh come on. You wouldn't stop looking at Riggs all night. And he couldn't keep his eyes away from your table.'

Meredith kept her eyes firmly locked on the road.

Maggie gives in, 'Okay, fine. Fine. I like him. Are you happy now?'

'He definitely likes you too,' Amelia laughs. 'Although you have to understand that I cannot condone this relationship. Riggs is Owen's sworn enemy. By association, I have to hate Riggs.'

Rolling her eyes, Maggie said, 'Has Owen even told you why he hates Riggs?'

Meredith was clutching her steering wheel so tight, that it was in serious danger of snapping in two.

'New rule,' Meredith interjected. 'No more talking until we get to the hospital.'


	2. Chapter 2

Jo Wilson scrunched her eyes as the sun's rays blared through the open windows of the loft. She looked around the loft confused. When had night become day? She was aware of the dull throb in her head, a result of the copious amounts of alcohol she had consumed the night before in the bar, as well as the ache of her back from sitting on the hard chair. She had been sitting at the table the for hours thinking about everything that had happened the night before. A lot of stuff happened yesterday, from asking Alex to have a baby, to getting drunk at the bar, to Alex punching De Luca. All of it had played over and over again in her mind.

Alex hitting De Luca like he was some kind of human punching bag was still vivid in her mind. Every collision of Alex's hand to De Luca's face, reminded her of the times when it was his hand and her face. She touched her jaw absentmindedly. She remembered how it shattered when he punched her so hard that she fell over and smashed it on the coffee table. She could touch almost anywhere on her body and be reminded of a time when he hit her there. Was Alex any different to him? She squashed that thought down immediately. She shook her head slightly. How could she ever think that Alex resembled him even remotely? Alex loved her and would do anything to protect her.

Would he though? He wanted marriage. Jo wasn't enough for him, he made that perfectly clear yesterday. He wanted something that Jo could never give him. But why did he come back last night? Jo got up from her seat at the table and walked over to the sink. The small movement made her feel woozy, but she couldn't determine whether it was from the headache or anxiety. She clutched the bench tightly to stop her world from swaying.

Why did Alex come back last night?

She probably should have talked to him before she screamed at him to get out. De Luca was on the ground clutching his face, and there was blood. She looked over to the couch where she saw De Luca's body gently rising and falling with each breath he took. She could hardly have chucked De Luca out after his face was bleeding and he was being so nice to her last night. After Alex left, Jo had taken a look at De Luca's face and recommended that he be taken to the hospital. Having refused, Jo gave him a blanket and her pillow and insisted that he sleep on the couch. But none of last night mattered now. Nothing mattered now. Alex didn't matter. Grey Sloan didn't matter. Nothing mattered except for the fact that she told De Luca her secret.

Her secret was out. He would find out where she was soon or later. She had worked so hard to build a new life, to be this different person, to keep this secret from everyone. She had made friends, she had bought a house, and she wanted to have a baby with Alex. And now she would have to leave. He would come and find her. He would come and hurt her. He would come and hurt anyone she was close to. Her life felt like a sick and twisted game of hide and seek, and it was only a matter of time before the cat catches the mouse. She knew what she had to do. There was only one option for her. She would have to leave Grey Sloan.

Jo's hands were shaking uncontrollably. She wouldn't be able to operate for a while if she didn't get a hold of her thoughts. She looked around the room in search of a clock. It was late; she should have already been at the hospital. Quickly scrambling to get dressed, she heard a little 'Ouch' coming from the couch. Jo filled up a glass of water and walked over to where De Luca was now sitting on the couch, softly prodding his face. His right eye was closed shut and was a ghastly shade of purple. Jo tried her best to not make a disgusted face.

'How are you feeling?' She said as she handed him the glass of water.

'Like somebody took a baseball bat to my face,' he said.

Jo managed a small smile. 'Do you want me to take you to the hospital? It's looking pretty nasty.'

De Luca was shaking his head before she finished her sentence. Jo nodded her head slowly and steeled herself for what she was about to say next. 'Look De Luca about what I told you last night…' Jo trailed off unsure of how to progress in the conversation.

'You don't have to worry,' De Luca said seriously, his good eye looking into hers. 'I won't tell anyone. I promise.'

Jo looked into his eye and gave him a smile. De Luca was a good guy; he was kind and definitely did not deserve to be involved in Jo's mess. But, she couldn't trust him to keep a secret of this magnitude. She picked up her things and began walking to door. De Luca stood up and followed her.

'You should tell Alex,' he said.

'De Luca,' Jo began, turning around to face him. But she was abruptly cut off.

'Alex deserves to know.'

Jo took one last look at De Luca. Here was standing there with a swollen face and trying to look out for Alex despite what happened last night. She gave him another small smile and walked out the door. Jo had already made up her mind.

She would tell Alex everything. She would make him listen. She would tell him that she has to leave and then she would ask him to come with her. Her anxiety had firmly settled itself within her. Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult; it felt as though her lungs were slowly filling with water. She was being selfish. She should just get in her car and drive away, leave everything behind. She had been in this situation before; she knew a clean cut was best for everybody. But she couldn't be alone anymore. She was scared to live a life without Alex. He would choose to stay though. After he hears that she isn't really Jo Wilson, that her whole existence here in Seattle had been a lie, why would he want to come with her? Tears began pooling in Jo's eyes. She was determined not to let them drop. She got into the seat of her car and turned the ignition. This isn't his problem. He would choose Grey Sloan over her. He would choose Meredith over her. He always chose Meredith over her.

But she has to ask him anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

Meredith Grey had never seen a divorced couple looking so intimate since Cristina was still sleeping with Owen. Jackson was sitting on April's hospital bed, with their baby daughter safely nestled in April's arms. Meredith was quick to note that his arm was wrapped securely around April's waist, it was such a protective gesture that she had to wonder whether Jackson still had feelings for her. April, who had barely woken up from her surgery, was softly cooing to her daughter.

Staring from the doorway, Meredith found the scene almost unbearable to watch. She was watching such a raw and intimate moment between the small family that she almost turned around and walked away. Meredith couldn't help but feel jealous. It was impossible not to watch the happy couple without thinking about Derek. Memories flooded back to her of when Ellis was born, of how Derek wasn't able to be there. A twinge of sadness and grief washed over her as she thought of how Ellis would never know her father. Derek will never be able to teach his son how to throw a football or how to ride a bike, and Zola would never get to have another princess tea party with her dad. Not for the first time she asked herself why did he have to leave her? Grimacing at the memories of Derek, she quickly suppressed these thoughts before she had to go home and down a bottle of tequila to drown her sorrows. She plastered a happy smile on her face and walked into the room. April could barely draw her eyes away from her baby as Meredith walked into the room.

'Congratulations,' Meredith smiled at them and then directed her next question at April. 'How are you feeling?'

'I'm fine,' she replied and turned her eyes back to her baby. 'Just so grateful that this little one is alive.'

She then smiled sheepishly at Meredith, 'Sorry about your kitchen bench.'

Meredith waved her hand quickly dismissing the apology and laughed, 'Oh that bench has been through a lot of things. It was only a matter of time before someone had a baby on it.'

Meredith studied April for a moment. Her hair was a frizzled mess around her head, tubes were still attached all over her body and her eyes showed such exhaustion that Meredith was surprised she was awake at all. April had certainly changed since coming back from the army. Her eyes that once shone so bright with the hopes and dreams of the world now were conservative and cautious. It was like she now saw everything in a different light, a light that no longer shone only on the stars and flowers but also the pain and suffering that plagued the world. She was stronger, she was a person who had been to hell and back, and she had endured. Meredith found herself wondering if April would've had the strength or courage to have a C-section on her kitchen bench before Samuel had died.

'Have you thought of any names for the baby?' Meredith asked.

'We are still trying to figure out the right one,' Jackson said. 'Just trying to get to know her a little bit first.'

April looked up at Jackson and hesitated before saying, 'I was thinking maybe her middle name could be Catherine.' He gave her a surprised look and opened up his mouth to disagree, so April hurried on. 'She's a strong woman who cares so much about the people she loves, and she would do anything to protect them. I want our baby growing up knowing that she is loved and cherished.'

Jackson gave April a smile, and moved a lock of hair that had fallen into her face, 'Then we should be calling her April. I have never met someone as strong, and loving and selfless as you. You were ready to give up your life for this baby. I'm so thankful that they were able to save both of you. But don't you ever put your life in danger like that again, okay. We need you.'

April looked into Jackson's eyes, the green eyes she had so easily fallen in love with, and suddenly she was overcome with emotion. She had tried to supress the terror of last night, but looking into his eyes she realised she didn't have to hold up the world by herself anymore.

'Jackson,' April said in barely a whisper. Tears ran down her face and her voice broke, 'I was so scared. I couldn't lose another baby; I couldn't go through that again. But I was also scared about me. There was so much pain, and so much blood. Then I passed out. I was worried I would never get to see you or the baby ever again.'

'Shhhh,' Jackson said, and he moved April slightly so her head could rest easily on his chest. 'It's okay, I've got you know. I'm not going anywhere. Everything is going to be alright.'

Meredith couldn't help but feel a little awkward watching the couple share this moment. She had taken to inspecting the fake potted plant in the corner, so as to not interrupt them. She felt quite sure they had forgotten she was in the room and she wondered if she could just slowly walk out without them noticing.

Thankfully, Alex chose this moment to pop his head inside the doorway.

'Mer, I need to speak with you,' he said.

'Alex, have you seen Wilson? She was supposed to be here 45 minutes ago to do rounds?' Meredith asked when Alex had steered them into a supply closet. 'Why are we in a supply closet?'

'Have you seen Callie? I need her for a consult.' Alex said, his eyes looking everywhere around the supply room except at Meredith. She wasn't sure that he heard her question.

'Callie left last night to be with Penny,' Meredith said, looking with concern at him. Alex only nodded his head, and she wondered if he even knew what she said. His scrubs were soaked with sweat and his hands were shaking badly as they grasped the shelving unit. Meredith noticed that the knuckles on one of his hands was bruised and cut.

Meredith looked up at him, and said seriously. 'Alex, what's going on?'

Alex wet his lips with his tongue and finally looked her straight in the eyes. 'I did something bad.'

Alex confessed to Meredith about punching De Luca the previous night after he found him on top of Jo.

'Alex, you can't do this anymore. I know you're hurting, I know that you and Jo aren't working out, I know that it sucks. But you can't go around hitting everyone who makes you upset.' Meredith said. She felt exasperated, she couldn't keep baby-sitting Alex anymore. He was too impulsive. He always did things before thinking about the consequences.

Meredith sighed. 'Where's De Luca?'

'He was at Jo's when I left,' Alex cringed. 'He was on top of her, Mer. And then she was screaming at me to get out.'

He ran his hands through his hair before looking at Meredith desperately, 'I think I'm losing her.'

Shaking his head slightly he continued in barely a whisper, 'I can't lose her.'

Meredith looked at Alex. It was like he took two small steps forward and then leaped backwards. He wanted to get married and start a family, and then he just goes and acts like a teenage boy again. She wanted to help him, but she wasn't sure how she could make the situation better.

'Okay. Okay. I will figure it out. Just focus on your patients.' Meredith said. She had never seen Alex look so desperate and panicked before.

Alex once again just nodded his head. Meredith's pager began beeping.

'I got to go,' she said.

She looked at him one last time, and had a sense of deja vu as she said, 'Don't do anything stupid.'

She left him nodding his head as she walked out of the supply closet and tried not to run as she walked down the corridor.

Jo Wilson had just paged her 911 from the dumpsters.


	4. Chapter 4

Maggie should not have been in the Chief of surgery's office arguing with Dr. Bailey. Instead Dr. Edwards should be prepping her patient for surgery, and Maggie should be in the OR discussing her plan of action with Riggs.

'He's only twenty-three years old. Look at this picture Bailey. This is him,' Maggie said thrusting a small photograph in Bailey's face. 'This isn't the first heart that UNOS has taken a heart away from him. He has a younger brother who is depending on him. They are the only family they have. He has never even had a girlfriend before. He's never had a chance to feel love; his heart has never been broken. He hasn't had a chance to live, Bailey.'

Bailey stood behind her desk and stared at the photograph of the young man. He was a handsome man who still possessed boyish features. He had his arm slung around another guy whose similar features led Bailey to think it could only be his brother. They wore matching grins. Bailey sighed. She had been in this situation countless times before. She herself had been standing where Maggie was arguing with Richard Webber about UNOS once upon a time. It was tough being the chief of surgery, she had to make the hard decisions, they might not feel like the right decisions, but they were the logical ones.

'I'm sorry Dr. Peirce and Dr. Riggs, but if UNOS says that Mr. Peterman is not getting this heart, then he isn't getting the heart,' Bailey said clearly. 'I'm sure you understand that Mr. Peterman will be put back onto the transplant list and will wait for the next available heart.'

'Can't you do something? Can you call them? You're the chief of surgery in one of the best hospitals in the state. Surely once you explain the situation, they will understand. They will listen to you,' Maggie pleaded. Maggie couldn't help but notice that Riggs stood silently by her side, offering no support.

'I'm sorry but my hands are tied. UNOS makes the calls, not me and their decision is final. They won't be swayed because this man is twenty-three and hasn't had a girlfriend before. I'm sorry.' Bailey sighed. She understood how frustrating the situation must be for them. Bailey always felt like each of her patients was her family, and she hated to let any one of them down. She certainly hated to see one of them die. She went to walk out of her office, but hesitated at the door. Looking at them very seriously she said, 'Just don't cut any L-Vad wires.'

Maggie shared a confused look with Riggs before she gave an exasperated sigh and they followed Bailey out of the office.

'Thanks for your help,' Maggie said sarcastically as she and Riggs walked back to the patients room.

'What did I do?' Riggs said, confused at the sudden hostility towards him.

'Nothing. You did nothing. A little support would've helped,' Maggie said annoyed.

Riggs suddenly grabbed Maggie's hand and changed direction, walking them both swiftly into an empty conference room. He turned around and looked at Maggie, who was standing before him in bewilderment.

'The chief was right,' he said adamantly. He was staring Maggie right in the eyes and she couldn't help her breath hitching slightly. His hands were rested lazily in his coat pockets and despite his easy tone his eyes were hard and seemed to lack their usual playful spark.

'I haven't been in a hospital in a while,' he said earnestly, shrugging his shoulder in apology. 'I'm still adjusting. I'm a systems guy. I came from a long stint in the army. The army is all about systems. UNOS has a system, you respect the system and the system respects you. But here, it's a whole other ball game. A game where you guys push the boundaries, and play to the systems limits. I'm still learning how to play the game.'

Maggie nodded her head, she never thought about how hard the adjustment from army life to hospital life would be. She had never bothered to ask if he was coping. Especially since he always seemed so laid back and playful. 'It's a shark tank here,' she said. 'It's either eat or be eaten. You're the only one who's going to fight for your patients.'

'Everything in the army is so fast paced. It's all go, go, go. There is no waiting for UNOS in the Middle East,' Riggs stated.

'I appreciate you telling me this Riggs,' Maggie smiled at him comforting.

They fell into a silence, watching each other. Maggie couldn't help but smile. She liked the way Riggs had confided in her, she didn't get to see this vulnerable side of him very often.

Riggs cleared his throat and said, 'Should we get back to the patient then?'

Maggie led the way from the conference room into the patient's room and prepared herself to tell her patient that UNOS wasn't giving him this heart, again.

Her patient was lying in the hospital bed, his face was pale and his hair was plastered to his scalp from the beads of sweat on his forehead that had formed just from the exertion of breathing. When he noticed the doctors walk in the room, he raised himself slightly with a grin broadening across his face. His brother was sitting in the armchair beside the bed and sat up rigidly when the doctors walked in. Maggie took a deep breath and exhaled.

'Ronny, there's been an issue with the heart from UNOS,' Maggie said. Her heart tugged painfully as she watched the smile disappear from his face.

'I'm not getting this heart am I?' he said, his body sagging slightly in his hospital bed.

'We're afraid there was another candidate who needed the heart more,' Riggs said.

Ronny's brother rose from the couch next to the hospital bed, and put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

'It's alright Ronny. We've been through this before, we know how to deal with it. You'll just keep taking your medication and we wait for the next one,' he said. There was such hope in his eyes that Maggie had to look away.

'Will you just Shut up, Jacob. I am so sick of you being so positive all the time,' said Ronny, his eyes shining with anger and frustration. He had to pause to take a deep breath in between sentences. Jacob's face fell slightly at his brother's words, but he stayed silent.

'Just be realistic for once in your life. Look at me, my heart is failing. You don't know what it's like waking up every morning and wondering if it will be your last,' continued Ronny. 'There's always someone who needs the heart more; there's always someone who's more dead than me.'

Ronny looked up at Maggie, his face showing such exhaustion, 'Take me off the transplant list.'

Her mouth fell open in surprise and Maggie looked at Riggs who took a step towards the patient saying, 'Now you don't want to be doing that mate.'

'Don't call me mate. I'm not your mate,' Ronny spat at Riggs. 'I can't keep going through this. You promise me that I'll get a heart, you build my hopes up but I never get it. That is worse than dying with this stupid heart.'

'Ronny, you have to understand that without a heart transplant, you will die. You will die soon. A heart transplant is your best chance at surviving' Maggie informed him.

'Ronny?' Jacob questioned, concern written all over his face.

Ronny just turned to glare at his brother, 'If you want to help me, then just take me home.'

Ronny stood up from his bed and didn't wait for his brother as he walked out of the room. As he passed Maggie and Riggs, he muttered 'Thanks for nothing, again.'

Jacob picked up his brother's bags, gave Maggie and Riggs an apologetic smile before quickly chasing after his brother.

* * *

Jo Wilson stood at the front of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. She watched patients and doctors coming and leaving the hospital. Some were smiling and laughing drinking their morning coffee, while others were in a sombre rush carrying flowers and hastily scrawled get well cards. This hospital had become her home. For the first time in her life she had felt like she had a home, she felt like she belonged. If this was going to be the last time she saw this hospital, then she was going to memorise every detail. She was already late; a few extra minutes wouldn't make a difference.

Alex was in there somewhere, she thought. She wondered if he would even want to talk to her, after all he still thought that she had slept with De Luca. What was she going to say to him? She looked down at the ground shaking her head. She would just have to bite the bullet. Clenching her hands into fists, she had a strange sense of excitement. She didn't have to hide who she was anymore. Inhaling deeply, Jo started walking towards the doors of Grey Sloan Hospital for what was possibly the last time.

'Doctor Wilson!' a shrill voice behind her called.

Jo closed her eyes in annoyance; she did not have time for this. Very early on in her intern days, Jo learnt that it is on the verge of impossible to practice as a doctor if you don't have the nurses on your side. You didn't need to befriend them all, you just had to pick one and be nice to them. You just needed one nurse in your corner. Unfortunately, Jo had picked nurse Betsy. She was a middle-aged lady who wore bright mixed matched clothes that smelled of mothballs and was always swinging around a massive leather handbag. Betsy was renowned as the biggest gossiper in all of Grey Sloan. She new everybody's business before they knew it themselves. The small lady hurried to catch up to Jo, who acknowledge her icily.

'Good morning Dr. Wilson!' she cried. She looked around, 'I see you didn't come here with Dr. Karev this morning. Are you two still having troubles? That's too bad. You know who else is having trouble?'

She didn't even pause for an answer before continuing on with her insufferable dribbles of other peoples business. Jo really didn't have time for this, she was already 45 minutes late for rounds, and what was worse was that Grey was her attending for the day. She was going to be unforgiving. Jo watched a man come hurrying towards them. He was looking around him nervously, like he didn't really want to be seen. He wore ripped clothes with socks and sandals and a baseball cap that was pulled low over his face. Jo felt sadden as she watched him, he almost looked homeless. Of course she had a soft spot for the homeless, she new what it was like to be the dregs of society.

'Excuse me? Excuse me? Can I get some help please?' he called towards Jo and nurse Betsy.

Using this man as a scapegoat, Jo quickly interrupted the nurse and told her she would meet her inside. Walking up to the man and in her politest voice she said, 'Hello sir, are you looking for administration? I know the hospital is huge and can be a little confusing sometimes.'

The man grabbed her elbow suddenly and Jo instinctively tried to yank it free, but his grip was tight. The man looked at her pleadingly and said desperately, 'Please, please are you a doctor? You have to help my friend! He's over here.'

He motioned for Jo to follow him and then walked hastily around the corner of the hospital. Jo took one last look behind her at the hospital and quickly followed him. The man was walking her around the far side of the hospital where the dumpsters were kept. The smell was almost unbearable; it turns out that hospital food doesn't just taste worse than normal food, it smelt worse when it was decaying as well. They were well away from anyone who would be able to help Jo get the sick or injured person inside the hospital.

'Sir, if somebody is hurt we need to get them inside of the hospital,' she said, but the man just ignored her.

A cold shiver ran down Jo's spine, something didn't feel right and with a sinking feeling she noticed a white van parked next to a dumpster. The man turned around to face her, but she couldn't see anyone who needed help.

'Sir, where is your friend? If they are unwell, they should see a doctor immediately,' Jo said cautiously.

Suddenly there was a loud click behind her head. She knew that noise. Anyone would know that noise. Someone had just cocked a gun to the back of her head.

Her stomach dropped, her body froze. Vomit quickly rose to the back of her throat. Her body began shaking uncontrollably and he knees almost collapsed underneath her. It's funny how quickly your world can turn upside down. Instinctively, Jo raised both of her hands into the air and tried to control her breathing. The owner of the gun spoke behind her, he had a voice that was deep and demanding. He only whispered and yet it carried through the air and settled there.

He breathed, 'If you do exactly what I say, you don't have to worry about dying today.'

Jo tried to speak, but her voice failed her, so she nodded her head slightly. She didn't understand what was happening, but she knew she was in serious trouble. Somehow, her life was about to get even more messed up then it already was.

'Page Meredith Grey, now.'


	5. Chapter 5

Wilson had better be lying in the dumpster dying, Meredith thought as she rushed through the hospital. She narrowly missed running head on into Owen Hunt as he stepped out of a patient's room, and he yelled after her, 'Meredith, have you seen Amelia?'

But Meredith didn't bother to reply as she turned the corner at the end of the corridor. The elevator dinged and Meredith jumped in, pushing the button, grateful that she could get her breath back for a moment.

'Come on, come on.'

As the doors started closing, an intern yelled, 'Hold the door please!'

She recognised the intern, he was the blonde one in De Luca's year, what was his name again? Chris? No, Cross. He was running towards her with his arms stacked full of folders and papers. She watched as his foot got caught on a spare gurney in the corridor. Cross fell, almost painfully slow, and landed sprawled on the ground. His folders were tossed into the air everywhere, one made it into the elevator landing next to Meredith's foot. The corridor was filled with loose papers floating down slowly, almost making it look as though it was snowing. Meredith ignored him as the elevator doors slid shut and Riggs quickly slipped in the elevator, his arms also filled with case files and loose papers.

'What's going on there?' he said, before looking up at Meredith. His eyes quickly surveyed the small room and his lips pulled into a smirk when he realised who was alone in the elevator with him.

'Well, I must have done something really good to deserve some alone time with Meredith Grey,' he chuckled. Meredith turned her shoulder away from him and rolled her eyes.

'Is that why Maggie's got me on a leash today? So she can send me to have secret little rendezvous in the elevator with you,' he grinned.

When she didn't respond, he put a hand on the small of her back and said in his softest, most sincere voice, 'Hey, you can be honest with me.'

Meredith shrugged him off and he just chuckled, which infuriated Meredith further. She turned towards him.

'Quit playing around. Don't you know where we are? This is a hospital, with sick people and injured people and even some dead people. Doesn't that mean anything to you,' Meredith said her face contorted with annoyance.

Meredith began pushing the buttons on the elevator more insistently, 'How long does this damn thing take?'

Turning his body so he was looking Meredith in the eyes, Riggs said earnestly, 'I know what this is about. Look I saw you looking at me last night when Amelia was walking down the aisle. In fact, you couldn't take your eyes off me. Now I know what you were thinking. You were picturing yourself walking down the aisle. You were picturing yourself walking towards me.'

Riggs chewed the side of his lip to stop himself from laughing.

'Are you done yet?' Meredith breathed, her face blank with emotion. She watched Rigg's open his mouth and she shook her head. 'Oh god. It's still going.'

Riggs continued on like he hadn't heard anything, 'You felt those feelings. All those feelings that you don't want to feel, you felt them and I'm not going to lie to you. I felt them too.'

Meredith looked at Riggs, and images of Maggie flashed through her mind. Hurting Maggie would be the same as brutally massacring a litter of puppies. The world would be sucked of all the sunshine, the flowers would slowly wither and die and then Meredith would be left to face the cold darkness alone. She wasn't going to hurt Maggie. Meredith wasn't in her intern year anymore. She was a widow with three kids and the head of general surgery. There wasn't time to go running around the hospital chasing Riggs in a messy love triangle, especially with her sister.

'We aren't doing this,' she said.

'Doing what?' Riggs said quizzically.

'We aren't flirting. We aren't sleeping together. You aren't going to be the new Derek. And we are certainly not doing this in the elevator.'

Finally, the elevator dinged open, and Meredith stepped out and continued rushing through the hospital. Why did it have to be so big?

'Hey? What's the big rush?' Riggs yelled behind her. She ignored him and put him out of her mind, she had to find Wilson.

She had a strange feeling about this, something felt wrong. Her arms were riddled with goose bumps and a cold shiver ran over her body. Wilson was 45 minutes late and paging her from behind the hospital, something was seriously wrong. After all it was a 911 page for a reason, if this wasn't an emergency and all she wanted to do was talk about Alex, then Meredith would be seriously pissed.

She told Alex that she would figure out the situation. But she didn't have anything to say to Jo. Meredith understood being afraid of getting married, she had been scared at first as well, but Jo's commitment issues were verging on the unbelievable. There had been three proposals, followed by three rejections. It didn't make any sense. Meredith remembered the time Jo had confronted her about the way she treated her like a lump, or discounted her, or whatever she said at the time. She had told Meredith that she was in Alex's life and she was there to stay. So why was marriage such an issue for her? To say Meredith was angry with her, or annoyed with her was an understatement. Alex didn't deserve these little games she was playing with him. Why couldn't he just have normal? He had dealt with crazy all his life, why couldn't he find someone that was sane.

Meredith had finally made it to the hospital entrance and hastily ran out to the car park. Two voices could be heard shouting angrily from behind a black four-wheeled drive. Meredith faltered for a moment and heard part of their argument.

'You don't understand Jacob!' the older of the two was yelling. He threw his arms in the air in frustration. 'Let's just go home, wrap me up in blankets and leave me on the couch to die like we always do.'

The man had to lean against the car and coughed, then looked up at whom Meredith assumed was Jacob. 'Let me get busy dying. I don't want to live anymore.'

Meredith tore her eyes away from them and left the men arguing behind her as she rounded the side of the hospital. It was an alleyway where the hospital dumps all of its waste, and despite her owning the hospital, she had never been to this part before. Sunlight didn't reach the alleyway, encasing it in cold shadows, which fuelled Meredith's feelings of uneasiness. She walked slowly down the alleyway, she had expected to see Wilson straight away calling for her help, but instead there was just a van parked by a dumpster.

'Wilson?' she called cautiously.

Suddenly, the door of the van opened and somebody stepped out, but it wasn't Wilson. Instead it was a man. It took a moment for Meredith's eyes to adjust to the darkness of the alleyway and when they did, she realised she recognised him. He was an ex-patient of hers.

He looked the same as he did when Meredith had discharged him all those months ago. He seemed to have put on a little bit of weight, she expected that was due to the meds she had prescribed, but he still had the same scruffy beard that covered most of his face. He wore old, overly large clothes that gave the sense he was homeless and Meredith wouldn't have been surprised if they were the same ones he wore the last time she saw him at the hospital. She had always suspected that he didn't have much money.

She remembered his case clearly, she remembered almost all of her cases clearly since she was an intern. Patients are hard to forget because for a time, even if it's a small time, they became your everything. You spend countless sleepless nights worrying about them, operating on them, checking they are still alive. Their journey becomes your journey. If you fail, they die. It's very hard to forget a patient, especially a dead one. The dead ones never let you forget. They haunted you; they followed you into every OR and made you doubt yourself. They kept you up at night.

'Dr, Grey,' the man said, his lips curving upwards into a sneer. 'Don't you remember me?'

Meredith took a step backwards without thinking. She exhaled a small breath and told herself that there was nothing to be scared of, she saw ex-patients all the time.

'Gareth Anderson,' she said with her most polite smile. 'It's good to see you looking so well. Did you see a doctor come this way at all?'

The man chuckled softly and shook his head slightly, as though what Meredith had said deeply amused him. Meredith recalled Gareth Anderson's case. He had been her patient for a few years, and first came in because of liver failure. She remembered that his brother had given him part of his liver but Gareth's body had rejected it. Gareth was put onto the transplant list, and when UNOS had called with a liver, Meredith was sure that this time his body would accept it. Unfortunately, part way through the process, her idiot intern accidentally damaged the organ, so Gareth was put back on the transplant list. Finally UNOS had called again and the surgery was a success, Gareth was discharged and Meredith thought that would be the last she would be seeing of him.

'I am looking well aren't I?' he cackled, his eyes were alight and gleaming. 'No thanks to you is it? What was it? Three transplant surgery's before I was finally able to go home. You told me afterwards that I was free; I was free to live my life, free to make something of myself. But do you know what I went home to?'

No longer laughing, Gareth was staring hard at Meredith daring her to answer his questions. Meredith's heart was pounding in her chest as she quickly assessed the situation. This man was delirious and in her experience, delirious people were dangerous people. Somehow she needed to leave the alleyway and she wondered what would happen if she turned around and ran. Would he follow her? Could she make it back to the carpark before he caught her?

'My mailbox was stuffed with medical bills!' Gareth spat the words at her. He was edging closer to her now. Slowly closing the gap. 'Turns out three transplant surgeries are pretty expensive. I bet you knew that doc. All you people like to do is cut, cut, cut!'

Meredith took a step back and suddenly someone grabbed her arms. She yelled out, but they put their hand over her mouth. Fear gripped Meredith tightly. She struggled against the hold and tried to bite the hand, but they were too strong and didn't even flinch. She turned her head slightly to see the person that was holding her, but she didn't recognise him. He was a lot taller than Meredith, with a hard face and he wore sunglasses despite the darkness of the alleyway.

'Enough chit chat Gareth,' he breathed. His voice was deep and commanding, Meredith had no doubt he was the leader of the operation. 'Let's get her out of here.'

Meredith's eyes widened and she began screaming again, but the hand that muffled her made it sound like she was whimpering. Gareth tied her hands together tightly with rope that cut into her skin, and then they put tape over her mouth. Tears were streaming down her face as they dragged her over to the white van and put a bag over her head so her world was encased in darkness. This wasn't happening. It didn't make sense why they would want to kidnap her.

She heard the doors of the van open and then the man with the sunglasses yelled warningly to Gareth, 'Don't hit her! We need this one conscious.'

This one? Meredith only had time to think, before she was picked up and thrown into the back of the van.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where's my little princess?" Arizona said as she walked into April's room. She flourished a little pink fluffy bear that she held in her hand and tossed it to April, who was sitting up in her hospital bed.

April picked the bear up and smiled happily, "You didn't have to get her anything."

Arizona ignored her as she carefully picked up the baby, who was sleeping peacefully swaddled contently in a blanket. April beamed and carefully placed the teddy next to all the other identical pink teddies that she had already received. She pursed her lips as she looked at them all. It seemed like she had an army of pink fluffiness.

"I think the hospital gift shop needs to get a little more variation," April murmured.

Arizona gently rocked the baby and took in her innocent features; she didn't yet know how cruel and insensitive the world could be. Memories flooded back to her of when Sofia was a baby. She was so tiny and so fragile that she almost lost her the day she was born. She almost lost them both. She was suddenly overcome with emotion and as tears flooded Arizona's vision, she let them fall.

"Aww, Arizona what's wrong?" April said startled, unsure of what to do.

"Sofia is gone. My baby is gone. She's on the other side of the country and I can't see her," Arizona wept.

"I have a baby," April said absently smiling at her daughter being cradled in Arizona's arms. "I have a beautiful healthy baby girl."

"I won the custody battle. Callie put us all through hell. She put Sofia through hell, she put me through hell, and she put my friends through hell. And yet… somehow I still won the custody battle," Arizona said as she paced the room and held the baby tightly.

"Do you think she looks more like me or Jackson?" April wondered. She thought that her daughter had definitely inherited Jackson's nose.

Arizona threw a hand in the air out of frustration and April flinched as she watched the surgeon hold her daughter with one arm.

"Let's keep two hands on the baby," she said as she reached a hand out to her daughter.

"And then she made those eyes, you know the ones, they look so sad and desperate like the whole world around her is collapsing," Arizona said as she flopped into the visitor's chair beside the bed.

"Jackson has lovely eyes. I could stare at those eyes for eternity." April smiled, lost in thought.

"It was like she was always on the verge of tears. Callie was miserable and then Sofia was always upset," Arizona said, her eyes fixated on the tiny sleeping baby.

"Do you think Jackson is only hanging around here because I gave birth to his baby?" April suddenly questioned.

"And I just thought, I can stop all that. I can stop all the pain and suffering. I am the reason for all the unhappiness," Arizona cried.

"That when I'm discharged things will go back to how they were before?" April's stomach sank in realisation; feelings of horror settled instead of the elevated joy she had been feeling since waking from her surgery.

"I could make her happy again. So I bought her plane tickets. And now Callie's gone. And Sofia is gone. And they're happy," Arizona said quietly.

"Right now it feels like we are just pretending. We're pretending to be this happy little family for our daughter. Because she deserves one," April admitted, a single tear streamed down her cheek.

"And I'm here, alone and miserable," Arizona confessed, sniffing.

"But if he didn't want to be with me before…" April trailed off sadly.

"Why am I so miserable?" Arizona questioned looking up and meeting April's eyes.

"Why would he want to be with me now?" April finished.

April and Arizona answered each other's questions with small miserable smiles.

* * *

"Walk with me Karev," said Arizona as she walked out of April's room to find Alex outside. "What do we have?"

"Woman, mid thirties, 30 weeks pregnant," Alex began saying as they walked towards the patient's room.

Arizona let the information wash over her, grateful that she had work to focus on instead of Sofia. She knew it would be difficult having her little girl live in another state, but it felt like Sofia had taken a part of Arizona with her. Arizona found herself longing for the days when things where less complicated, where Penny wasn't in the picture and Callie was still in Seattle. The thought of Penny raising her child made her feel sick. Sofia knew who her mother's were. Penny wouldn't change that. She hoped. It hadn't even been a day since Callie had left with Sofia, and Arizona was already falling apart. She wouldn't be able to breath properly until her little girl was back home in her arms, where she belonged. But she had to put her personal problems to the back of her mind, there would be time to fall apart when she got home because right now she had babies to save.

Arizona turned towards Alex, "Alright, we need to book an OR right now and prep for surgery."

Alex nodded his head and she watched him flex a bruised hand, his face winced slightly from the pain.

"Karev?" Arizona worried as she picked up his hand to look at it. 'What happened to your hand?'

"It's nothing," he said as he took his hand away and hid it behind his back. His eyes did not meet hers.

Arizona crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows questioningly, "Alex, what's going on?"

When he didn't answer her, Arizona just sighed, "Are you going to be okay to operate? Or should I page another peds surgeon?"

"No, I'm fine," Alex assured her as he walked off. "I'll get that OR ready."

Arizona walked into the OR, after carefully scrubbing her hands, a little while later and found Alex already waiting for her. She had barely begun surgery when she heard a small cough from the doorway and looked up to see De Luca awkwardly standing there.

De Luca's eyes flickered quickly to Alex's back before he nervously said, "Dr. Robbins? Dr. Webber appointed me on your service today, is there anything I can help you with?"

"De Luca! I could use some more suction here," she waved him over. "Scrub in"

"De Luca?" Alex whipped around to see De Luca scrubbing in. "Robbins? We don't need him, I can suction for you."

"Karev, this is a teaching hospital. I have to let the interns into the OR in order to teach them something."

De Luca nervously walked up to Arizona and stood slightly back from the table, keen to just observe the surgery from afar.

"Well jump in De Luca," she said. "You can't suction from back there."

She turned to give him the suction, and her eyes found his face.

"De Luca what happened to your face!" exclaimed Arizona.

De Luca's eyes unintentionally flicked again to Alex, who was suddenly very interested in watching the monitors intently. Realisation dawned on Arizona's face.

"Karev, you did this?" Arizona turned on Alex, her eyes wide.

When he said nothing, Arizona sighed and said annoyed, "De Luca, get out of here. You can't be in here if you can't even see what you're doing."

The intern didn't argue, but he didn't leave the OR.

He was intently focussed on Alex's back, who was still focused on the monitors.

"I just want to let you know that I didn't sleep with her," De Luca said quietly.

"I know what I saw. I don't want to hear anything you have to say," Alex turned around and spat the words out.

Arizona looked disbelieving at De Luca. Her mouth had dropped open behind her surgical mask. "You slept with Wilson? That's why you never came home last night?"

De Luca ignored her and said to Alex, "Look, I had just finished my shift and was grabbing a burger at Joe's. Wilson was there trashed, and Steph was leaving. She asked me to watch her. I took her home and was helping her into bed."

"I said I don't want to hear it. I'm done," Alex's eyes showed hurt but his hands trembled with fury.

"I made dinner for you," Arizona interrupted them, she was looking at De Luca with sad, hurt eyes. "I cooked De Luca. I cooked Spaghetti Bolognese because it's your favourite. Why didn't you text me? I rented out a DVD for us. You know Wednesday is DVD night and I really needed a DVD night."

"She's going through some stuff. You need to talk to her," De Luca pleaded, his eyes focused on Alex.

"What? Are you two now best friends that have sleep overs and tell each other secrets?" Alex said.

"You should be thanking me. I got her home safely."

"You want me to thank you?"

"This baby is going to be just fine," said Arizona happily, finishing her work. Trying to break the tension between the two men. "I'm confident that she's going to carry it full term. Well done to me. Great work."

De Luca shook his head frustrated with Alex. He tore off his surgical mask so Alex could see what he did to his face.

"I'm not her boyfriend. Hell, I'm not even her friend. I'm just an intern. And yet I was there for her last night. So you don't get to be upset about something that didn't even happen, you don't get to be angry with me. Not when I was picking up your pieces last night," said De Luca raising his voice with anger.

Looking down at the patient, Alex said angrily, "If there's going to be no baby. Then I don't have to be here."

Alex ripped off his surgical gown and walked out of the OR. Arizona watched him go and then turned to De Luca.

"Andrew, you can't just sleep with other people's girlfriends," Arizona said to him.

De Luca gave her a frustrated look and then followed Alex out of the OR. Arizona looked around and found herself alone in the OR with the nurses.

"I guess I'll just close up then," she called after them.

* * *

Maggie leaned against the desk of the emergency room, softly tapping a pen against the bench. Her eyes were fixated on Riggs. He was talking to a patient, she was an older woman, and Maggie watched as she smiled and laughed along with him. Maggie let herself smile; there was no doubt that Riggs was charming. Riggs looked past the patient and his eyes caught Maggie's. Embarrassed, she tried to look away quickly but lost her balance and almost fell over in the process.

"Taking the dog for a walk are we?" Amelia teased, suddenly appearing next to Maggie.

Maggie rolled her eyes at her sister. "Our transplant got cancelled. It was the only thing I scheduled all day. So now Riggs is trawling for surgeries in the pit, hoping to find something even remotely interesting."

"Ah, yeah. Slow day for me as well," Amelia responded. "Nobody even has a headache to complain about."

Bailey came running towards them and skidded to a halt as she said breathlessly, "Have you seen Grey?"

"Ah, No. Haven't seen her since we got here," Maggie answered while Amelia just shook her head.

"Where could she be? I keep paging her but she's not answering," said Bailey as she looked around the room wildly. "If you see her, kindly remind her that she missed her 10 o'clock surgery this morning."

Bailey went to walk off, and then turned around angrily, "Oh, and don't forget to mention that the Chief is looking for her."

Maggie looked at Amelia worriedly, "It's not like Meredith to miss a surgery. Do you think something happened?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, "I'll send her a message."

As she pulled out her phone, it beeped with a page. She studied it with pursed lips.

"Is that Owen paging you again?" Maggie asked in a quiet voice.

Amelia didn't answer; instead she just turned her phone on silent, and put it back in her pocket.

"Amelia," Maggie said sadly.

"It's fine. I'm fine. I just don't want to talk to him right now. I just need to focus on work."

"Amelia!" Owen called, relief washed over his face as he walked into the emergency room. Amelia shifted uncomfortably as he walked over to where they were standing. "Haven't you been getting my pages? I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Yeah, I'm working right now Owen," Amelia said curtly, picking up some paper's that where on the desk. "I'm busy."

Owen looked confused at Maggie, who shook her head slightly. Owen let out a long breath.

"Amelia, can we just go somewhere and talk for a moment?" Owen asked helplessly.

"I can't," Amelia stated. She focused hard on the paperwork. "I'm busy."

Owen looked at her with frustration and snatched up the papers, Amelia just glared at him.

He quickly scanned the papers, and his eyes narrowed, "This isn't even medical. Some kid left his geography homework here."

Amelia looked at Maggie for support and she quickly chimed in, "I actually need Amelia for a consult, she was just coming with me now."

"Oh yeah," Owen said, and Maggie nodded her head with a smile. "Who's the patient?"

Maggie didn't have an answer for that, and she just stood staring at Owen with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Help!" somebody suddenly screamed from behind them. "Help!"

Maggie whipped around, her heart pounding. She looked around for the person who cried out and she watched wide-eyed as Ronny Peterman staggered into the pit. He was crying hysterically, and his body was trembling wildly. He was going into shock. But what immediately caught her attention was that he was covered in blood.

"Help," he whispered to the silent trauma centre. He looked at his blood stained hands and then his eyes found Maggie. "Please help me."


	7. Chapter 7

Miranda Bailey was pacing in her office. She was wringing her hands as she tried to think of where Meredith Grey could be. Meredith had not only missed her first surgery, but her second and hadn't even bothered to check on any of her patients. Bailey had spent the morning neglecting her own surgeries to run around the hospital asking for and Amelia were with her when she got here but hadn't seen her since. She had visited April and then spoke to Alex briefly but nobody had seen her since she ran out of the elevator with Riggs. She had vanished. Bailey had lost count of the amount of times she had paged and called her, but they had all gone unanswered.

She looked out the window of her office, hoping to see Meredith Grey walking in the hospital doors with a coffee in her hands, apologizing and saying that she had to visit the day care because there was a small emergency. Bailey would pretend to be mad, and berate her saying that if it happens again there would be consequences, but really she would be overcome with relief. She scanned the entrance and only saw interns running around and patients coming and going after surgery. Meredith was nowhere to be seen.

Bailey inhaled deeply. She was worried and she was scared to make the call. But she was chief, and that meant she had to make that call. She always had to make the tough calls. She had to admit to herself that something was wrong. Very wrong. She had to admit to herself that Meredith Grey was missing.

'How do I look?' Ben grinned, interrupting her thoughts as he waltzed into her office. He spun around to show off his new resident scrubs; delighted that Bailey had cut his suspension short. 'You know it just feels so good to be back on surgical rotation. This is who I am now. Being an anaesthesiologist just doesn't cut it for me anymore. I am a surgeon. You know what I'm saying?'

He looked up at his wife, and his face fell when he saw her wringing her hands and looking like she was on the verge of a breakdown. He knew that look all too well.

'Miranda?' he said as he hurried over to her side. Grabbing her hands in his and gently holding them.

'Miranda, what's wrong?' he worried.

Bailey looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes and she let out a small whimper before she gasped, 'I think Meredith Grey is missing.'

'Meredith is missing?' a rough voice demanded from behind them.

Bailey whipped her head around to see Alex furiously standing in the doorway.

* * *

Meredith Grey laid on the cold hard surface of the van with her knees crouched up into her chest. The black bag over her head made it impossible to see her surroundings, and losing that sense only increased her anxiety. Through her thin scrubs, the coldness of the metal van's interior bit at her skin and the rope that bound her hands together cut painfully into her wrists. She tried to wiggle her fingers, and could barely move them as the rope limited blood supply. She could feel the emptiness all around her; it reached out and threatened to consume her. Was she alone?

This was her coffin, she thought. This is where she dies. She was in a big, cold metal coffin with no way out and no chance of surviving. Panic was coursing through her body and she wondered if this is what it felt like to be buried alive. She was encased in darkness and felt a crushing weight on her chest as her breaths came quick and rapid, like she couldn't get enough air.

Gareth turned the key in the ignition and the engine coughed and spluttered loudly, echoing in the alleyway. Hope surged through Meredith. Don't let it start. Please, don't let it start. If there is any kind of God, then don't let it start.

The engine came to life with a deafening roar, and in the back of the van Meredith screamed out trashing her body around. Slowly, she felt the van start to drive away from the hospital and drive away from safety. At first, she began taking mental notes of where they were going. Left, they drove about 200 metres then a right, through two sets of traffic lights and then another left. But as they drove on and on, the sequence was lost to her and she gave up. With every bump in the road, Meredith was thrown into the air and as the van sped around a particularly tight corner, she was tossed around the van and landed next to a hard mass. She landed awkwardly on her side and her hip screamed in pain, but she barely noticed. She was focused on what she had landed on, or rather whom she had landed on. It was definitely a body, but it wasn't moving.

She had a sinking feeling that it had to be Wilson, after all she had paged Meredith to the alley, but was nowhere to be seen when she got there. She quietly hoped it was Wilson, because if it wasn't her then what did they do to her? Brutally massacre her and then toss her dead body into the dumpsters?

Meredith closed her eyes and pushed that thought out of her mind, thinking like that would only send her crazy. She had to remain calm and in control, she knew the drill, she had been in positions like this before. Meredith was certainly qualified to be in this situation. That was definitely a sad reflection of her life. She had dealt with bombs, beatings and bullets, amongst countless other things. And as she lay bound on her back, pressed up against a possibly dead body in the back of a van, it only made sense that the universe would chuck in a kidnapping as well. To the hell with the universe, Meredith thought. She had been in horrific life threatening situations before, she had gotten through all of them, and this one probably didn't even rank in the top five. She was going to survive this one, just like she had survived all the rest. She had gone through too many bad things to die now.

She arched her back and then gently kicked the body with her feet, when they didn't move she kicked again, harder this time. Ever so slightly she felt the body stir next to her and heard a soft muffled moan. Meredith let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, and relief flooded through her body. She wasn't alone and she was ashamed to take some form of comfort in that. Somebody, maybe Wilson, was alive and had been kidnapped with her and somehow they would find a way out of this mess together.

She lay huddled up next to that person for hours, as the van drove on and on.

There were so many questions that she didn't have an answer to. Why did they want her? Gareth had always seemed like a very sweet guy when she treated him, of course he was scared of dying and desperate to live but he was always quick to make jokes and make light of his situation. His brother was just as kind, he barely left his side, coming to all his appointments and surgeries, and she wondered where he was now. Was he a part of this? Why had they gotten Wilson to page her to the alley and then kidnapped them both? Gareth was talking about money issues, and not being able to pay for the medical bills. Did they want money? She doubted whether they would be able to get much money from Wilson, but Meredith did have a lot of money. She was more then willing to give him everything she had if it meant that she could go home. If it meant she could see her children one last time.

Her children. What would they tell them? Would it be like when she told them about Derek? Meredith remembered sitting Zola and Bailey down on the couch and she crouched down beside them, clutching their tiny hands in her own. She remembered their looks of confusion when she told them that daddy wouldn't be coming home. Who would tell them that mummy wouldn't be coming home? They wouldn't be alone. She thought about Maggie who absolutely adored them and would never let anything harm them. She thought about Amelia who would sneakily go and see them when they were in day care. She thought about Alex who treated her kids as if they were his own. If her situation weren't so dire, she actually would've smiled. Her kids were loved and they would be all right. They had a village. They would survive.

She felt a sudden change in the speed the vehicle was going, no longer were they speeding around corners, they were slowing. They slowed, until they were almost crawling and continued on like this for a while. Terror flowed through her body and her breath came short and quickly. Her mind flitted back to the time when her mouth had been wired shut after she was attacked by that patient, Lou. That time, Blake had easily cut the wires when she couldn't breathe, but nobody was going to rip off the tape over her mouth. She had to relax or else she was going to have a panic attack.

She felt the other person start to thrash around and kick the doors of the van with their feet. They were crying out hysterically. Meredith felt around for their hand and managed to grasp a few fingers. She squeezed as tightly as she could. The person slowly calmed down, their kicks getting softer before stopping all together and then they squeezed back, softly.

The van came to a halt. She heard doors slam and men talking loudly, then there was a moment of silence before the doors of the van were tugged open. Immediately, wind blew into the van whipping her clothes and she felt a stark contrast between inside the van and outside. The screeching of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees replaced the cool deafening silence of the the bag obscuring her view, she knew that they were far away from the hospital and they were far away from anyone that would be able to help.

Suddenly, rough hands grabbed at her clothes and tugged her out of the van, throwing her painfully on the ground. Meredith cried out as pain shot through her body and the wind was knocked out of her. Once again the hands grabbed at her collar and began dragging her along the ground. Meredith tried to dig her heels in to stop them, but the man was too strong and she was dragged through the dirt with sticks tearing at her clothes and rocks slicing her hands. There was a distant thud behind her as the other person was thrown out of the van, and then the doors were slammed shut.

The ground changed from dirt to what felt like wooden floorboards, and Meredith realised that she must be in a house. The air was warmer in here. She was thrust onto her feet and finally the bag was removed from her head and the ties were removed from her wrists. And she found herself standing over a body.

Her eyes were instantly drawn to the blood; it had soaked through his shirt and onto the table. There was a slow methodically drip as it leaked into a puddle on the floor, splashing onto her sneakers. She found the wound easily; the blood was coming from his abdomen. She recognised the injury. Gun shot wound. Her eyes found the victims face and Meredith tensed. It was Gareth's brother, Toby. His eyes were closed and his face was soft and peaceful. She would've thought he were dead if not for his chest rising and falling softly. She was brought back to her dire reality when a hand grabbed the tape and ripped it off her mouth. She groaned from the pain.

'Save him,' Gareth hissed from beside her and Meredith instinctively put her hands over the wound and applied pressure, her hands quickly becoming stained in red blood.

She found her voice, it was small and barely audible, 'We have to get him to a hospital. The only chance he has at surviving, is if we get him to an OR.'

Toby laid on an old wooden table that was barely wide enough to fit his body and there was a stained pillow that cushioned his head. Her eyes quickly darted around the room looking for a possible escape. They were in what looked like an old abandoned cabin in the woods. There was no other furniture in the room except for a chair in the corner and she noticed that all the windows were bordered up with wooden panels. The only light in the room emitted from old kerosene lamps.

'He's been shot,' Gareth cried, overcome with emotion as he looked at his dying brother. 'We brought you here to save him.'

He turned his gaze on Meredith, his eyes hard and he spat at her, 'You aren't going anywhere until you save him.'

From behind them, the floorboards creaked as someone passed by the room. Meredith turned her head and saw a woman in a surgical coat with a bag over her head, struggling to free herself. Meredith strained her eyes until she made out the name embroidered on the woman's surgical coat.

Dr. Jo Wilson.

'Wilson!' Meredith shouted. 'Wilson!'

Wilson froze, and the man with the sunglasses tried to lead her into another room. Meredith whipped around to Gareth.

'If you want me to save him,' Meredith said desperately. 'I need Wilson's help. He's got a better chance with two surgeons working on him.'

She watched as he considered this for a moment and then without taking his eyes off Meredith he called,' Bring in the spare!'

Wilson was brought into the room and then steered around to the other side of the table. The bag was ripped off her head. Her eyes were wild, darting around the room before focusing on Meredith. They were red and puffy like she had been crying, and they were staring terrified at Meredith. Her clothes were torn and her hair had leaves in it. She had a gash on her hairline and the blood plastered her hair to her head. Wilson looked down at the body with wide eyes and a look of realisation passed across her face.

A gun was cocked to Meredith's temple, and she froze. She kept her eyes fixed on Wilson.

Gareth's face was contorted in pain and anger as he looked down at his brother and said, 'You save him.'

Then his head snapped up to look at Meredith, and that maniacal smile curved his lips upwards again, 'Or you die.'


	8. Chapter 8

Alex Karev walked through the hospital looking for the chief as he furiously drank a cup of coffee. He had just finished the gruelling Hickson case and wanted to let Bailey know. She had received the case when the mother had first come in and had reluctantly handed it over to Alex even though he was the Peds attending. All morning Bailey had been looking over his shoulder, snapping unwanted, unneeded, unappreciated advice at him like he was her idiot intern again. Stifling a yawn, Alex struggled to stay awake, he felt like he was dead on his feet. Granted, he didn't have to do much in the surgery, Arizona took care of everything, but he had been working all night.

After Jo kicked him out, he spent a long time leaning the back of his head against the loft door. He stayed there until he heard Jo's hysterical crying calm down into soft heart wrenching sobs and then they ceased all together. The image of De Luca and Jo burnt red in his mind, but listening to Jo cry just left him with a feeling of emptiness and deep regret. He never wanted to be the cause of her tears. He didn't know where to go. He didn't even know if he had a home anymore. He thought about going back to Meredith's, but the thought of lying in bed and falling asleep peacefully seemed ridiculous. He found himself driving to the hospital, which was the only place he thought could take his mind of things.

He drank the last drops of coffee and threw the cup into a bin as he walked past. He allowed himself a small smile. Alex was grateful that Arizona managed to keep the baby safely inside the mother; he seriously doubted whether the baby would've survived if it had to be delivered. I couldn't deal with a dead baby right now, he thought grimacing. He let his mind drift back to the conversation he had in surgery with De Luca.

'I didn't sleep with her!' rang De Luca's voice in his head, and his beat up face was fresh in Alex's mind.

Alex closed his eyes and tried to get the picture of him on top of Jo out of his head. De Luca wasn't the type of person to sleep with someone else's girlfriend, Alex knew that. He believed him. The feeling like his heart was being ripped out of his chest had eased. However, the feeling of guilt had firmly taken its place. It was like the more he tried to be grown up and mature, the more stupid things he did to ruin everything. Sometimes he wished he could be more like Meredith, she was able to put up this cold, impenetrable exterior and it seemed like she felt nothing. Alex wanted that. Sometimes he just wanted to be able to feel nothing, because feeling something hurt too much. It just hurt him too damn much.

His eyes automatically locked on to anyone he saw. He couldn't help that he was checking the faces of everyone he walked past, keeping an eye out for her. He didn't know if he wanted to find Jo and talk to her, or just avoid her.

What he wanted, more than anything, was a quiet life with no drama. He's had enough of drama, of crazy parents with knifes, of plane crashes and shootings, of crazy girlfriends and people dying. It was exhausting. So what if Jo didn't want to get married, that didn't mean they couldn't have their happily ever after. Since when did a stupid piece of paper mean so much to him that he was ready to throw away his happiness and throw away the most important person in his life. He had to find her and set things right, he had to fix this mess.

Alex walked across the bridge and went to knock on the chief's door when he saw that it was open.

He heard low talking inside and stuck his head in to see Bailey speaking to Ben, who was wearing resident scrubs. This brought a smile to Alex's face, Ben was an exceptional Anaesthesiologist, but he made an even better surgeon. He was just about to congratulate him on his come back, when he heard the end of their conversation.

'I think Meredith Grey is missing,' he heard Bailey choke out.

The world seemed to slow, and it took a moment for the full impact of those worlds to hit Alex. Then it felt like the air was suddenly sucked from his lungs.

'Meredith is missing?' he asked furiously.

Bailey's face fell when she saw Alex standing in the doorway, her eyes became wide and her mouth was agape.

'What do you mean she's missing Bailey?' Alex asked in a low dangerous voice. It's not true. It can't be true. You heard Bailey wrong, he pleaded in his head. It's a misunderstanding. Bailey is just going to laugh it off and say you misheard. Meredith is fine. Meredith has to be fine.

'Karev!' Bailey said rushing towards him and he saw how puffy her eyes were. Panic was beginning to set in.

'Where is she?' Alex yelled, daring her to say the words. When you tell a patient's family that their loved one has died, you had to say it in a way that makes for no other interpretation and Alex needed that now.

'I don't know,' Bailey said, meeting his eyes while hers were filled with tears.

Alex turned on his heel and walked away. He didn't know where he was going but he had to find her. Where could she be? He heard Bailey rushing behind him and he pulled out his phone and dialled Meredith's number.

'She missed her first surgery and then her second. Nobody has seen her since this morning,' Bailey said concerned, coming up beside him.

'Maybe something happened to the kids?' Alex asked.

Bailey shook her head and responded, 'I rang the school and the day care, the kids are fine and they haven't seen Meredith since she dropped them off.'

Alex put the phone to his ear and waited for Meredith to answer.

From behind them, Meredith's shrill ring tone rang out, and Alex felt a moment of relief. They spun around expecting to see Meredith walking towards them, but instead they saw Meredith's phone sitting on the desk of the nurse's station.

Bailey picked up Meredith's phone while Alex asked a nurse desperately, 'Who left this phone here?'

The nurse ignored Alex as she continued to type on a computer and flicked busily through papers.

'Who left this phone here?' Bailey demanded.

The nurse looked up and was surprised to see the chief of surgery, she studied the phone briefly and almost tripped over her words as she said, 'Oh the cleaner just dropped that in, he said he found it behind the hospital where the general waste is disposed.'

She had barely finished her sentence before Alex turned and fled through the hospital and with each step he took the more worried he became. Bailey followed him and yelled at anyone who got in his or her way.

He found himself standing in the alleyway; it was dark and deserted with Meredith nowhere to be seen. His eyes were fixated on a trail of dried blood. It was a short trail, only going about 10 metres and then it abruptly stopped. Alex felt like his world was spinning. This couldn't be real. What had happened to her? It looked like someone had taken her. Who had taken her? Where had they taken her?

Bailey saw what he was looking at and whimpered. She put a hand on Alex's shoulder, but he quickly shrugged her off. He felt like his world was collapsing. He had lost Meredith once before when she disappeared after Derek died and he didn't know if he could go through that again. His phone was still in his hand and he yelled as he chucked it at the wall where it shattered. He wiped a tear that threatened to fall from his eye and straightened up.

'Call the police,' was all he said.

There wasn't enough time to have a breakdown; there were things that needed to be done. Alex turned his back and his footsteps echoed loudly as he left Bailey in the alley and walked away.

* * *

'What the hell happened to this kid?' Amelia asked as she stuck needles into an exposed brain.

The OR was crowded with surgical staff. Amelia's eyes were focused but she could hear Maggie and Riggs talking softly about the best way to approach the procedure. There was chaos after Ronny had come screaming into the Emergency Room. Owen and Riggs had rushed out to the car park while Maggie took Ronny aside, and spoke quietly to him. Then Riggs had come back with a boy who had serious injuries resulting in being run over. The boy was around nineteen years old and Riggs referred to him as Jacob.

'His brother, Ronny, is the patient who was going to get the heart transplant this morning,' Maggie said, picking up a scalpel and working furiously. 'Ronny accidentally ran over Jacob with a car in the parking lot. Ronny wanted to go home but Jacob was arguing and trying to make him stay. So Ronny hopped in the car and drove, but he accidentally ran over his brother.'

'He ran over his brother?' Amelia said sharing a stunned look with Riggs. 'Where is Ronny?'

'He's in the waiting room,' Maggie answered. 'I said I would give him an update as soon as I had one.'

They worked in silence for a while, concentrating on saving the patient's life with only the monitor's breaking the quietness.

'You know she jumped me, it wasn't the other way around,' Riggs said suddenly causing Maggie and Amelia to look up at him surprised.

'What are you talking about?' Maggie asked with wide eyes.

'Me sleeping with Meredith,' He said, not catching the look Maggie and Amelia shared. The needle Amelia had just picked up almost snapped in half she was clenching it so hard.

'You slept with Meredith!' Amelia demanded, her eyes were alight and staring shocked at Riggs. She couldn't believe what she had heard, she couldn't believe that Meredith would lie to them like this. They were supposed to be sisters.

'Yeah. That's why you scheduled all your surgeries with me today isn't it,' he asked Maggie. 'I'm the bad guy who slept with your emotionally fragile sister.'

Maggie's eyes were glued firmly to the patient; she took a while to answer his question and Amelia knew it was because she was trying really hard not to cry.

'You got me,' Maggie managed a forced laugh. The audible crack in her voice almost broke Amelia's heart.

'I can assure you,' Riggs continued, apparently not feeling the sudden iciness of the room. 'That she was the one that jumped me. You don't have to be looking over her shoulder or holding her hand all the time. Meredith is strong, she's tough, you know, and she can definitely handle herself.'

'I can't believe this,' Amelia exclaimed. Anger had boiled up inside her; she just didn't understand Meredith Grey. It always seemed like they were getting somewhere, that they were moving forward and really starting to become an important part of each others lives. And then something always came up, something always happened that would have them yelling at each other, exclaiming how much they hate each other and how they would never be sisters. Right now, Amelia would be more than happy if she never saw Meredith again.

'Amelia,' Maggie warned, looking at her with glistening eyes. 'Not now.'

'No,' Amelia said. 'No, let's talk about this now. Now is the perfect time.'

'Amelia, stop.' Maggie said in such a harsh voice, that Amelia almost took a step back.

'Okay, then.' Amelia said reluctantly. She cared about Maggie dearly, they weren't even real sisters, but she was more family than Meredith would ever be.

Riggs looked between the woman, confused by their sudden hostility, he opened his mouth to say something, but Amelia spoke first, 'He's gone.'

'What?' Maggie questioned, confused.

'The patient, he's brain dead,' Amelia said putting down her tools.

'No,' Maggie said disbelieving. 'No, that can't be.'

'Maggie, his head got run over by a car. What was I supposed to do? There's no brain activity. There's nothing left,' Amelia said saddened, she took off her facemask and walked away from the table. 'I'll inform the brother.'

'Dammit!' Maggie exclaimed. 'Wait Amelia! I'll tell the brother.'

'What do you want me to do?' asked Riggs.

Maggie turned back to him but didn't meet his eye, 'Harvest the heart. It looks like Ronny is going to get that transplant after all.'

Amelia was waiting for Maggie outside, and quickly said 'I'm sorry Maggie; I swear I had no idea about any of it. Oh, I can't wait to hear what Meredith has to say about it.'

'Amelia I don't want to talk about this,' Maggie sighed. Amelia grabbed Maggie's arm and stopped her in her tracks so that the two doctors were blocking the corridor and people had to squish past them to get around. They received a lot of dirty looks.

'You always defend Meredith,' Amelia said exasperatedly. She didn't understand everybody's obsession with her. 'Everyone always defends the sad widow. She could murder someone, and everyone would be there coddling her and treating her like the victim.'

Maggie turned to Amelia, 'Amelia we aren't talking about this anymore, okay. We aren't doing this because I'm embarrassed and I feel like I'm exposed. Never have I felt like a bigger idiot. I thought I had a family here in Seattle, but the family I grew up in didn't keep secrets from each other. I'm not used to all the lies and betrayal.'

Amelia's face fell slightly as she couldn't help but feel a little hurt; after all, she hadn't been keeping secrets from Maggie.

'I will deal with it later because right now I have to inform Ronny that his brother is dead and he'll be receiving his heart,' Maggie finished. She went to walk away, but was immediately met by a solemn looking Alex.

'Alex? What's wrong?' Maggie asked, seeing the look on his face.

Amelia's heart sank, she knew that look, and it was a look of pity and guilt and worry. It was the look of someone who was about to bring someone else's world crashing down around them. She gave that look to patients all the time. It was the look that Owen had on his face when he told her that Derek had died. Amelia braced herself for what was going to come and asked in a strained voice, 'What happened?'

'Meredith is missing,' Alex said and was met by a stunned silence so he continued. 'I think she was kidnapped.'

'Oh my God,' Maggie exclaimed, putting her hands over her face.

Amelia closed her eyes and leant her head against the wall. Why was her life plagued with so much darkness?

* * *

'What happened to you?' Meredith asked. She was watching Gareth who sat in the corner with a gun aimed at her chest. He was casually chewing on a toothpick like this was his usual Thursday afternoon, which made him look even more menacing. The other guy, with the sunglasses who Gareth called Adrian, sat in the opposite corner unmoving as though he were carved of stone, with his gun aimed steady at Wilson.

Wilson had her hands in the patient working furiously to stop the bleeding, but she was struggling with the dim lighting. Meredith hadn't touched him yet. They had laid out a few 'essentials' on the table for Meredith and Wilson to use as surgical equipment, which was generally whatever they could find around the cabin. There were two steak knives, a rusty pair of scissors, some cotton, a needle and a few straws. This guy had no chance of survival, Meredith thought.

'I lost my job and then my house,' he said loathingly at Meredith, his voice was quiet but filled the room easily. 'And finally my family left me.'

The men seemed content to just watch them at the moment; they needed Meredith and Wilson to save Toby's life, which meant that they couldn't kill them, yet. They were valuable alive, and wouldn't be any use to them dead. This thought gave Meredith courage and cleared her head, allowing her to feel slightly more at ease.

The only way they would survive this encounter is if they play to their strengths. Owen or Riggs would probably use some kind of army battle technique to over power them and Alex would pummel their heads until they were bleeding on the floor. Wilson could probably give them a good thrashing, after all she had put that OB guy in the hospital with severe brain injuries, but she could never overpower two of them. No, Meredith had to play with her strengths. She was a doctor, there had to be a logical thought-out way to get out of here. And the only way she would be able to come up with one would be to firstly fish for information. She needed to know what she was dealing with.

'Start at the beginning,' Meredith pressed. 'How did you get to the point where you're on the run from the police and your brother is laying unconscious and bleeding on the table?'

Gareth's barking laugh filled the room, and he brandished his gun around, 'Look at this Adrian. Meredith Grey has been taken as our hostage and has a gun pointed at her. She's mere inches away from death and yet she still thinks she's in a position to be making orders.'

Adrian didn't find this amusing in the slightest; he just looked rather bored like he had somewhere more important to be.

'Okay,' Gareth sneered. 'I'll humour you for a moment, Dr. Grey. After all you'll be dead soon. Let's see. Well you know the beginning of this story, although it's more of a tragedy isn't it. I came to you all weak and pathetic, almost pleading for you to just take my life and let me pass through the pearly gates then and there. You should've done that Dr. Grey. A lot more people would still be alive if you had.'

He smiled at that thought, his yellow decaying teeth making an appearance. Wilson shifted uncomfortably, and glanced at Meredith, her eyes fluttering slightly. Meredith realised for the first time just how much blood had leaked from her head wound and made a mental note to check that out the first chance she got.

'You informed me that I was in liver failure, and my kind brother was the first to put his hand up and offer me some of his. We were all so happy that he was a 'perfect match' and you took us both into surgery. You told me the surgery had been a success, but a few day's later my body rejected the liver.'

Meredith nodded, she knew all this already but didn't want to interrupt him, because she doubted whether he would be inclined to continue.

'The second liver you promised me, you said it was a miracle. It was a miracle to have found another liver so quickly after losing the first, that's what you said. I could barely talk in bed at this point, hell I could barely open my eyes. But you took me in and opened me up, and then you butchered the organ. And then there was a third liver, and finally you managed to do your damn job. You got this one right. You patched me up and then sent me on my way. You thought you were God, you thought that you had worked a miracle and saved my life. But you made my life infinitely worse. Do you know how much money three surgeries cost, as well as the hospital care and medication. That's only some of the bills I received in the mail. I had to declare bankruptcy!'

Gareth's eyes were staring at Meredith's but they were unseeing. He was lost in his memories and his grip on the gun had loosened and was now resting on his knee.

'My family left me. I was depressed and couldn't provide for them. And after a man loses everything…well I guess he has nothing left to lose,' He chuckled softly at his own genius. He gestured towards Adrian and continued, 'Adrian is an old friend. So I rang him up and he offered me a job. He has been kind to Toby and I, he has looked after us. This morning, we were double-crossed by someone I had considered a dear friend and were intercepted by the police. Some crazy stuff went down, shots were fired and Toby got hit.'

'Wait!' Meredith said, realisation dawning upon her face. 'Wait. I heard something on the radio this morning. You were the people who were shooting at the cops? It was you. There were innocent people around. There was children!'

He looked back up at Meredith and smiled again, 'You have no idea of the things I have seen. Of the things I have done.' There was a long drawn out pause, which made the air feel like it was crackling with electricity. 'Of the things I will do.'

A look of horror passed across Meredith's face before she could stop it, and she quickly swallowed her fear down. But he had seen it. The laughter began as a soft rumble in his chest, before turning into a bellow as it came to the surface. He doubled over and cackled uncontrollably, his body shaking but his eyes remained cold and focused on Meredith. Her instincts screamed at her to take a step backwards, to put as much distance between her and his insanity as she could, but she stood her ground. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing just how terrified she was.

She risked a glance at Wilson, whose hands were shaking uncontrollably, but she was doing her best to steady them and continued working on the patient. There were silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Meredith felt a twinge of guilt. Wilson had been kidnapped because of her and she wasn't supposed to be here. What had Gareth called her? The spare? If they were going to kill someone, it would be Wilson first. Meredith had to figure out a way to get her out of here. Not to mention Alex would be pretty darn upset with her if Meredith somehow got out of this mess but Wilson didn't.

Meredith weighed her options. She didn't have many. She could throw a knife at Gareth, but that would only end with them dead. Even if she could manage to hurt Gareth, Adrian wouldn't even hesitate to fire his gun. No the only way to stay alive right now was to co-operate. She had to wait for the right moment and get them both out of here. Alive. That meant she had to save Toby's life.

Meredith looked at Wilson, her eyes fierce with determination and said, 'Wilson, hand me that knife.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Just want to say a quick thanks to everyone who as reviewed/favourited/followed/read this story :)**

* * *

Alex's words rang loudly in Maggie's head. She replayed them over and over in her mind.

'Meredith is missing.'

The world seemed to be spinning around her, she could distantly hear people walking, laughing and chattering. How could they still be smiling? The sun's rays broke through the window and she was suddenly showered in warm, bright orange rays that shone in her face. That didn't make any sense to her. How could the sun still be shining? Why isn't the world encased in a perpetual darkness where there are violent storms destroying buildings and people crazed with madness setting everything on fire? How could the world possibly be as bright and shiny as it always is, when Meredith could be lost forever?

Please, she pleaded in her head. Please, don't let it be true. Please I only just got my sister back after the first time she disappeared. A sudden thought struck Maggie.

'Wait! Wait,' she said letting out a deep breath and relaxing. She looked up at Alex whose eyes were glistening with sadness and said, 'Maybe she just went away like last time. Maybe Derek's death suddenly became too overwhelming again and she felt trapped like she couldn't breathe. Maybe she needed to leave, to get away from it all. This has happened before. I doubt she will be away for as long as last time. We just need to be there for her, and support her when she comes back.'

Alex shook his head, 'Maggie, No. I found her phone in the back alleyway. There was blood next to it. Something happened to her, and the only way we are going to find her is if we treat this as a kidnapping, and act now. Bailey is talking with the authorities.'

Maggie's brain went into overdrive, and she began imagining what could be happening to Meredith right now. She saw Meredith's lifeless body being dragged through murky water, a man had her collar grasped in one hand whilst his other clutched an axe. Blood was seeping from a hole in Meredith's abdomen. The scene flashed, and now Meredith was lying on a table. The lights were dim and her wrists were bound together above her head, while her ankles were tied to the table. She couldn't move. Somebody stood over her with a scalpel raised and as they brought it down Meredith began screaming and trashing about.

'Maggie!' Alex shouted at her, his hands were on her shoulders and shaking her gently, trying to get her attention. Alex was still standing in front of her, she could see his mouth moving but the words he was saying didn't make sense to her. It was like he was underwater trying to talk to her. She focused on him and brought herself out of her daze.

'Maggie,' he was saying, his voice full of concern. 'I know you're worried. But we aren't any help to Meredith if we have a break down. Okay?'

Maggie found her voice and cried hysterically. 'What do we do? What are we supposed to do? Who would do something like this? Oh! I know. I'll grab the keys and we can drive around Seattle. We'll find her. We have to find her. They can't have taken her too far away.'

'Just hold up,' Alex said, seeming to have grown a little impatient. 'Listen to me. This is what we are going to do. I'm going to pick up the kids. If they've taken Meredith, there's a possibility the kids might be in danger. You guys, 'he gestured to Maggie and Amelia, who was still leaning against the wall. 'Wrap up whatever you have to do here, and meet me back at Mer's house in half an hour. Got it?'

Maggie nodded her head, feeling her hysterics ease slightly. Alex had taken charge of the situation, and for some reason that made her feel a little better. She had seen Alex be protective of Meredith before, and Maggie took comfort in that. She knew that Alex wasn't going to give up until Meredith was safe. He would walk into the fiery depths of hell if it meant that there was even a minuscule chance of saving Meredith.

Amelia turned around silently and said nothing as she walked away, whilst Alex gave Maggie one last worried look before he walked off in a hurry.

Maggie stood in the middle of the corridor for what felt like an eternity before she remembered that she had to tell Ronny that Jacob died. The surgery that she'd been in less than five minutes ago seemed like it happened an eternity ago. She had a fleeting thought about getting Riggs to tell him, but she pushed that away. Riggs was the last person that she wanted to talk to right now and Ronny was her patient after all, he deserved to hear it from her. Slowly Maggie managed to put one foot in front of the other and walked down the corridor.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't manage to make her face impartial, she held too much pain for that right now. When Ronny saw her face, he knew. He doubled over and broke down crying, he managed to fall back into a seat and wailed as much as his lungs would let him.

Maggie walked up to him, and crouched down in front, putting a hand to his shoulder in comfort. She mustered all her professionalism to not break down as well as she said, 'I'm sorry but there was nothing we could do. His injuries were far too extensive.'

'This is all my fault!' Ronny cried between heart wrenching sobs. 'This is my entire fault. How did this happen?'

He put a hand on Maggie's shoulder and clutched it tightly, his eyes begged her to understand, 'I didn't mean for this to happen.'

Maggie looked into his eyes, they were so full of sadness and guilt, but they were also afraid. She realised that what he needed right now was for her to tell him that everything would be all right. She knew that was a lie. That everything wouldn't be all right. How could it be, when he just killed his brother.

'I know. It was just an accident,' She soothed him and she hated herself for what she had to do next. 'Ronny, there is one other thing. Your brother's organs are viable. He was registered as an organ donor.'

Ronny nodded his head, but she didn't know if he was taking in the words she said.

'Which means we have a heart for you.'

His head snapped up, and looked at her shocked. His tears quickly stopped flowing and his tone was suddenly full of aggression, 'Are you serious? You want me to take my brother's heart. Is this some kind of sick joke?'

'Ronny, I know this is a very difficult time...' Maggie began.

'You don't know anything. How many brother's have you run over with a car?' he spat at her.

She ignored that, 'You have a chance. You have a chance to get better. Don't you think that's what your brother would've wanted?'

'I don't know what he would've wanted. Thanks to me my brother is dead. I am the one that killed him and now I'm all alone.'

'So take his heart. Don't let his death mean nothing. Take your brother's heart and live for him,' Maggie pleaded, her throat feeling tight.

Ronny stared up at her, tears streaming down his face; he looked too exhausted to put up much of a fight so he nodded slowly.

'Okay, I'll get someone to prep you for surgery,' Maggie gave him a small smile, but not feeling like it gave any warmth or reassurance.

She got up, sent a quick message to Riggs about Ronny and then walked out of the hospital.

* * *

Bailey flipped frantically through the pages of a folder, her eyes skimming the contents quickly but not finding what she was looking for.

'There has to be some kind of protocol for a missing doctor,' she mumbled, chucking the folder onto the floor where it landed on top of a pile of similar looking folders.

She was reaching into the filing cabinet and looking for another folder, when there was a knock at the door and somebody cleared his or her throat. She spun around to find a man, dressed in a black suit and clutching a brief case, his mere presence radiated power.

'Chief Bailey, I'm Detective Jones. I am here about the missing person. I will move my team into the hospital and get to work immediately on locating the whereabouts and ensuring the safe return of Meredith Grey.'

'Yes, of course,' Bailey stammered, she tried to sound as in control of the situation as she could.

'We are here to work with your team in order to solve this case. Firstly, who knows about this?'

'Just myself and a select few hospital staff,' Bailey answered, straightening up and standing to her full height. Admittedly, she was still a shrimp in comparison to this guy. But she didn't like how this man was treating this hospital like his own; she was the chief of surgery after all. This was her hospital.

'I think we are at the point where you should notify the hospital staff,' the man said as he walked into the office and set his brief case on the table.

Bailey nodded and made her way out of the office to call an emergency staff meeting.

She made her way through the sea of hospital staff, each person chattering and laughing to the person next to them, but as they turned to Bailey and saw her face, the laughter died quickly in their throats. The mood turned sombre and they quickly stepped back and allowed Bailey to walk through. If the reason she had called this meeting weren't so dire, she would've laughed to herself. She must've looked like Moses, parting the red sea.

Richard sent Bailey an encouraging smile, but when she didn't return it he crossed his arms, his face hardening with concern. Slowly, Bailey made her way up the stairs and stood on a level so that everyone could see her face, and she could see everyone's. She called an emergency staff meeting as soon as she left her office, and then spent the walk thinking about the best way to break the news to her co-workers. She surveyed the doctors before her. In the crowd she saw Edwards leaning against a wall, her eyes sad and far away, Jackson was checking his watch impatiently, itching to get back to his newborn and Riggs was scanning the doctors, as though he was looking for someone but couldn't find them. She wouldn't insult their intelligence by sugar coating anything; they deserved to know the whole truth. She took a breath and swallowed.

'Meredith Grey, is missing,' Bailey stated, loud and clear, keeping her voice even as it echoed throughout the hospital. The reaction was immediate. Richard dropped his arms from his chest and his face became a wash with fury. There was a wailing as an intern, who Bailey was sure had never met Meredith in her life, began crying and her friends moved quickly to soothe her. Riggs looked like his world had come crashing down. The staff began murmuring, and the noise grew until Bailey continued talking, and the staff's attention was instantly drawn back to her.

'She disappeared from the hospital this morning and nobody has seen her since. We are taking the proper precautions in an event like this. The authorities have been notified and today we will be joined by Detective Jones,' Bailey gestured to him standing at the foot of the stairs. There was an uncomfortable shuffle from the crowd, as they took in his self-assured, powerful appearance.

'There will also be uniformed police in the hospital, whose number one priority is to find Meredith Grey and make sure she is safe,' Bailey continued, there was a few half-hearted claps of approval that quickly died. 'I know that this will be a difficult time for everyone. But the hospital will remain open, and your number one priority will be your patients.'

'How do we know this is an isolated attack? What if someone is stealing doctors from the hospital?' Somebody yelled from the back.

Bailey strained her neck but couldn't see who yelled out, so she answered, 'Meredith Grey is the only doctor to have gone missing, and we are treating this as an isolated personal attack and will remain doing so until there is evidence to prove otherwise.'

When nobody spoke up Bailey went on, 'You are to cooperate one hundred per cent and anyone who does not will answer to the board and may face suspended. Do you understand?'

There was a general nod from the staff.

'We will find Meredith Grey,' Bailey stated with as much conviction as she could muster. 'Anyone who has any information will come forward now. The rest of you are dismissed.'

The moment she finished talking, everybody began talking loudly and they slowly diffused throughout the hospital. Riggs surged forward, coming up to Bailey.

'Doctor Bailey,' Riggs said. 'I saw Meredith this morning. She was in the elevator with me, and she was in a hurry.'

The detective stepped forward, 'Do you know why she was in a hurry? Do you know where she was going?'

Riggs shook his head, 'She didn't say anything to me.'

He turned his attention to Bailey. 'Please, I can help. Let me do something. I have connections in the army, maybe I can see if they can organise a search or something.'

Bailey shook her head, and opened her mouth to respond. But the detective beat her to it, 'I'm sorry doctor, but the best chance of finding your friend is if we are able to do our job without interference. We can only do our job if you let us.'

'Shut up,' Riggs snarled at him.

'Riggs! That's enough,' Bailey said stunned. She turned to the detective her voice icy, 'Thank you.'

Detective Jones sighed and rolled his eyes, but he moved away and leaned against the staircase waiting for Bailey to finish.

'Chief,' Riggs said his eyes alight with fury. 'Don't make be go back to my patients. I can't think straight if she's missing. If she's out there….'

He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. 'I can't be here and do nothing, if she's in trouble.'

Bailey stared at him, mouth agape. A sudden thought struck her, the only one that would explain the way he was acting. Meredith and Riggs? Was it possible?

'Doctor Riggs, I don't know what is going on between you and Meredith' Bailey began, and Riggs shifted uncomfortably at this. 'But Doctor Pierce, has understandably taken the rest of the day off. So without a Cardio attending, I need you here to keep this hospital running. Understand?'

Riggs gave Bailey a desperate look and then walked off, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Bailey joined the detective and they walked to her office, only to find Richard waiting for her.

'Meredith is missing!' He yelled at Bailey, who winced. 'And you're only telling me that now?'

'Sir, there were protocols to follow,' Bailey said. 'I needed to make sure, before I told everyone.'

'To hell with the protocols, Bailey,' he shouted, spit flying everywhere. She could see the vein in his head pulsating. 'You know that girl is more like a daughter to me. I am the chief of surgery! I deserve to know.'

Bailey fixed up her coat and stood up taller, she didn't need this right now.

'Respectfully Sir, I am the chief of surgery now. I will be dealing with this situation and I will be the one who is working with the detective. Now if you have any information on the whereabouts of Meredith, than I suggest you talk to the detective here. If not, then I advise you to go and look after your patients. You will be covering Dr. Grey's patients today, and every other day until she gets back. Thank you Doctor.'

Richard looked furiously at Bailey, and then gave the detective a once-over before turning on his heal and storming out of the office.

Bailey fell into a chair and breathed heavily. This wasn't the way things were meant to be going.

'You handled that very well, I would've done the same,' came the voice of the detective behind her.

Bailey rolled her eyes, annoyed by the comparison and said, 'We have work to do.'

* * *

Owen was enjoying a quick peaceful nap in an on call room he had all to himself. It was the only bit of shut eye he would be having for a while, and despite it only being late afternoon, if he didn't get any now, who knows when his next chance would be.

The on call room door opened with a slam, jolting him out of his slumber with a start. He sat up and shielded his eyes from the blinding light that suddenly filled the room. He could see someone's silhouette in the doorway but it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the light.

'Amelia?' Owen said.

She stood in the doorway, her body shaking and tears streaming down her face. The sight of her, so broken and sad, made Owen's heart break. He immediately jumped out of the bed, his sleepiness forgotten and reached out for her.

'Amelia? What's wrong?' He questioned softly, guiding her to the bed where they sat down with Amelia's head cradled against his chest.

Amelia let out an agonising sob, which heaved her tiny body.

'Meredith,' she began, but she found she couldn't finish the sentence.

'Meredith?' Owen questioned. He sighed, how many times had they been in this situation. Where Meredith said something hurtful to Amelia and Owen always had to pick up the pieces. 'Amelia, whatever Meredith said I'm sure she didn't mean it. You guys always have fights and you get through it. This one will be the same.'

'No.' Amelia said shaking her head violently. She took a deep breath and managed to choke out. 'No. Meredith, she's missing.'

'What!'

The room seemed to darken, melting into an inky blackness. Owen ran his fingers through his hair, there had to be some kind of mistake. He slammed his fist into the wall in frustration. Amelia sobbed into his chest.

'She went missing this morning. There was blood on the ground. What if something happens to her? I can't lose my sister,' she cried.

'Shhh,' Owen soothed.

'It's going to be all right,' he lied. How could he possibly know that? He felt the uneasiness of guilt begin to settle itself into his body. Derek is dead, and now Meredith is missing. He had promised himself, but more importantly he had promised Cristina that he would look out for Meredith. To make sure she was okay and that she was coping. He was supposed to let nothing happen to her. After all, that woman had suffered more than anyone ought to suffer in an entire lifetime. Dammit Meredith, where are you?

The only sound in the room was Amelia's soft cries. His hand ran soothingly through her hair. She raised her head to look up at him, and Owen brushed away the tears on her cheeks.

'I was so angry at her,' Amelia said. She didn't look into Owen's eyes, instead she focused her gaze fixedly on the bed post.

'Before Alex told us. I was so angry with her. How could she hurt Maggie like that? Why would she sleep with Riggs when she knew that Maggie had a crush on him?'

'What?' said Owen, surprise evident in his tone.

'You never know what's going on in her head,' Amelia murmured. 'No matter how open you are with her about your feelings, Meredith is a vault. And if you don't know the code, then you're locked out.'

'Wait! Meredith slept with Riggs?' Owen said furiously.

Amelia nodded her head solemnly. Owen's head nearly burst open with rage.

'Sometimes…' Amelia hesitated. 'Sometimes I don't know how Derek could marry someone like her.'

She looked at Owen, with wide, sad eyes and asked, 'Am I a bad person for being angry with her when she could be dead?'

The sadness in her voice brought Owen's thoughts back to her. He cupped her face gently in his hands.

'No, of course not. And I'm sure she's not dead.'

She gave him a small smile.

'I've been avoiding you,' she said, the smile still playing on her lips.

'I've noticed,' Owen said, and smiled back at her.

'I was just so scared that we ran into things so quickly and that if you were to look at me, you would realise that you've made this huge mistake.'

'You know that would never happen. Amelia, this right here,' he gestured between them, 'this is marriage. Being there for each other and supporting each other. We will get through this together, okay. Because you are my wife, and I will never let anything happen to you.'

She beamed at him. He bent his neck to lightly brush his lips against hers, when his pager went off.

'I have to go. Will you wait here? We will figure out what to do.'

'I'm meeting Alex and Maggie at Meredith's,' she said.

He nodded, 'I'll call you when I'm done.'

Owen gave her a peck on the lips, picked up his coat and walked out.

Owen stood in an OR, trying to stop the patient from bleeding out on the table.

'Where is all this blood coming from?' said Edwards, with her hands deep in the patient. Owen watched her. She was working like a machine, entirely focused on the job at hand. It made Owen feel even guiltier.

'Hey, I'm sorry you lost your boyfriend,' Owen said. Edwards looked up at him ludicrously and just a little bit horrified. This wasn't the time and place, but Owen wanted her to know that he was sorry. She hadn't taken anytime off since he died. It seemed like his death was really affecting her and that she wasn't coping, he was worried about her. He turned his attention back to the patient.

'Dammit. He's got multiple fractures,' Owen said. He looked at a nurse. 'Page Torres.'

'Dr. Torres doesn't work at the hospital anymore,' a nurse immediately replied.

Owen shut his eyes, 'I keep forgetting that. Okay, just page whoever is on in Ortho. We need someone to fix this now.'

The nurse picked up the phone and began speaking to someone. A moment later she said, 'There is no attending available at the moment.'

'Dammit. This man is going to die from a broken collar bone,' said Owen. He closed his eyes and thought the situation over in his head. April's out, Torres is gone, Meredith is missing. It's a miracle Grey Sloan has any doctors left, he thought.

'Page Wilson,' Owen demanded. 'She was practically Callie's third hand. Page Wilson, she's our best chance.'

Edwards looked up from the patient for a moment just to mutter, 'Wilson didn't come in today.'

'Wilson?' a nurse piped up next to Owen. 'Dr Wilson? Oh she's here today, I was talking to her this morning.'

'Who are you?' Owen said rather harshly, he didn't have time for this.

'I'm your scrub nurse.' She said, looking rather hurt. 'The name's Betsy, I've literally been your scrub nurse for two years.'

He looked at her with an apologetic face.

Betsy continued, 'A man needed help so she followed him around the side of the hospital. She said she would meet me inside, but I suppose she just got busy. Just page her, I'm sure she would come.'

Alarm bells started ringing in Owen's head.

'What do you mean she followed a man around the side of the hospital?' Owen said as his insides stirred anxiously.

'She followed him around to where the dumpsters are kept,' said the nurse innocently as though she didn't see the issue. 'He said he needed help.'

'No no no no no,' Edwards said, her face horrified.

'And you didn't tell anyone!' Owen yelled at the nurse.

Owen looked at Edwards, who was staring at him wide eyed.

'You don't think...?' she trailed off, swallowing hard.

'Get the chief,' yelled Owen. 'NOW.'

Edwards turned and fled the OR room.


End file.
